Mortgage rate rises for the 7th week, refinance down for 3rd week

Mortgage applications decreased 2.5 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 19, 2021. 

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 2.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 2 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 5 percent from the previous week and was 13 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 3 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 3 percent compared with the previous week and was 26 percent higher than the same week one year ago.  

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 60.9 percent of total applications from 62.9 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 3.2 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications remained unchanged from 11.7 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 9.8 percent from 10.3 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged from 0.4 percent the week prior.  

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($548,250 or less) increased to 3.36 percent from 3.28 percent, with points increasing to 0.42 from  0.41 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate increased from last week.  

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $548,250) increased to 3.40 percent from 3.34 percent, with points increasing to 0.43 from 0.40 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.  

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 3.35 percent from 3.25 percent, with points increasing to 0.41 from 0.38 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.